Mitsubishi Ralliart triumphs at AXCR 2026; second consecutive win

KUALA LUMPUR: Team Mitsubishi Ralliart has just won one of Asia’s toughest off-road competitions, the Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR), demonstrating the Triton pickup truck's off-road capabilities.

Also read; What Mitsubishi learned the hard way Is exactly why the Triton feels so easy to live with

The 31st edition of the Asia Cross Country Rally was held in Thailand from August 9 to 15, where Team Mitsubishi Ralliart competed with three specially modified Triton pickup trucks and marked the historic win. This is Mitsubishi Ralliart’s second consecutive victory at the AXCR, following its 2025 win.

While the AXCR historically travelled through different Southeast Asian countries, recent editions have been held entirely in Thailand, where the participants deal with forests, river crossings, rocks, slippery and muddy tracks, and rural roads. The country’s hot and humid weather makes the rally even more difficult.

A historic victory for the Japanese crew

The Japanese driver Katsuhiko Taguchi and co-driver Takahiro Yasui secured the overall victory, becoming the first Japanese driver and co-driver pair to win the AXCR overall. They completed the competitive sessions in 12 hours, 58 minutes and 20 seconds, grabbing the title by a margin of 2 minutes and 25 seconds. 

Two other Mitsubishi crews participated in the rally and secured 27th and 36th place -

Positon	Driver and co-driver	Vehicle	Total time
1st	Katsuhiko Taguchi and Takahiro Yasui	Mitsubishi Triton	12 hours, 58 minutes and 20 seconds
27th	Kazuto Koide and Eiji Chiba	Mitsubishi Triton	20 hours, 58 minutes and 30 seconds
36th	Chayapon Yotha and Peerapon Sombatwong	Mitsubishi Triton	34 hours, 48 minutes and 43 seconds

2026 Asia Cross Country Rally: Key highlights

The rally covered a total distance of 2,145.19 kilometres (km), including 921.80 km of Special Stages. A special stage is the timed part of the rally where participants compete for the fastest time.

Here’s a closer look at six legs of the rally -

Leg 1	Pattaya to Prachin Buri	The event started with an official ceremony held on Walking Street in Pattaya, a beach resort city on Thailand's eastern coast. The route passed through eucalyptus and rubber plantations, with heavy rain left water-filled sections.  Taguchi avoided major mistakes and completed the day in third place overall.
Leg 2	Prachin Buri to Nakhon Sawan	This Special Stage was shortened from 145.67 km to 67.32 km due to scheduled military exercises located along the original route. However, it remained difficult because of rocky uphill sections.
Leg 3	Nakhon Sawan loop	This route included plantations, rice fields, irrigation canals and numerous similar-looking farm roads and waterways, making navigation extremely difficult. Taguchi completed the special stage in the fastest time and took the overall lead.
Leg 4	Nakhon Sawan to Kamphaeng Phet	The route passed through forests, rural communities, farm roads, including several high-speed sections.  Competitors also drove through cassava and sugarcane fields.
Leg 5	Kamphaeng Phet to Phitsanulok	This was the longest and most important stage of the rally. It featured narrow and twisting forest roads around a reservoir in the first section and long, flat dirt roads running alongside waterways in the second section. Taguchi and Yasui had built a lead of more than five minutes by the end of this stage.
Leg 6	Phitsanulok	The final stage included 58.62 km of timed competition, with the route passing through mountainous terrain. It was held at higher elevation, with holes and ruts that could cause a rollover even over a short distance. Taguchi and Yasui drove cautiously and managed their lead and finished the rally safely.

Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Director, Hiroshi Masuoka, said, “I am extremely proud that a Japanese driver and co-driver pair has won this rally for the first time in the event’s history. As a fellow Japanese, I could not be more proud of this achievement. This year’s rally was a closely fought battle from the very beginning, and it was impossible to predict who would come out on top. I believe this victory was achieved because every member of the team fully committed to teamwork. 

“Mitsubishi Motors has long used the experience gained in motorsports under extreme conditions to support the development of production vehicles. The benefits go beyond driving performance and contribute to the confidence and safety that characterise Mitsubishi Motors vehicles. The same applies to the development of our engineers, whose experiences in this environment will undoubtedly contribute to their everyday work. I’d like to thank everyone for supporting us,” he added. 

This victory strengthened the Triton’s credentials in one of the region's toughest off-road rallies. Along with that, the event provided real-world, valuable experiences that can help Mitsubishi improve the reliability and capability of its future vehicles.

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